Intellectual Freedom Festival

The Carol Spaziani Intellectual Freedom Festival is an Annual Event at ICPL that affirms everyone's right to freedom of thought and expression. All events are free and open to the public. We hope you will join us!

What is Intellectual Freedom?

Intellectual Freedom is a basic human right, defined by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The American Library Association affirms Intellectual Freedom as a basis for our democratic system and recognizes the important role libraries play in Intellectual Freedom issues. In order to be responsible citizens who have the ability to self-govern, we must be well-informed. Libraries provide information, ideas and resources in a variety of formats, enabling an informed citizenry.

About the Festival

In 1995, the Iowa City Public Library established the annual Carol Spaziani Intellectual Freedom Festival to honor Carol's 26-year career at ICPL and life-long commitment to the freedom of ideas. Spaziani (shown left) believes that the public library's role is to be a resource and a forum for an individual's pursuit and expression of diverse points of view. A Library committee monitors current intellectual freedom issues and plans programs of interest for area residents. Celebrate your intellectual freedom and head to the Library for interesting programs and discussions. For more information, call the Library at 319-356-5200.

2016 Events

Intellectual Freedom Festival Poetry Event XXX:Love Poems

This program is part of the 2016 Carol Spaziani Intellectual Freedom Festival, an annual event at ICPL that affirms everyone's right to freedom of thought and expression. All programs are free and open to the public XXX:Love Poems," a program of erotic love poems by Ovid, Whitman, Donne, cummings, Dickinson, Levertov, Gunn and others, read by the members of Reading Aloud, from the Iowa City/Johnson County Senior Center.